Blog Post #5: Course Reflection

One concept that I was able to learn more about as a result of this course and group was project is rapid prototyping. I have had a New Product Development course here at McCombs, but never had the opportunity to take part in a rapid prototyping session. So just being able to help form insights from our interviews into a product or service concept was a worthwhile exercise. It was helpful to have Jeff from upstream come in before our rapid prototyping session to help set the guidelines for how our team should approach the exercise. Of key importance, was his insights on just putting our heads together to get a rough product or service concept developed, not to try and attempt a full scale design. It was helpful to view his own examples of how products had evolved from rapid prototyping to finished solutions.

Another concept that I was able to better grasp was that of developing a persona of the customer and directing research and product ideas to the persona's characteristics. My wife is an Account Director at an advertising agency, so I have some understanding of how creative is directed towards a target, but I never got a sense for how it could be applied to product development. I think that when teams come together to develop a new product or service, having a persona makes sense because it not only gives the group a target to think about but it makes the process more fun. We developed the persona of Sam and Buck - the single, affluent dog owner (not Matt M). Sticking to this, enabled us to direct our effort around "what would Sam and Buck" want or need from our service offering? I think it's a great discipline to use; to have a segmentation, but personalization strategy.

I say more in the final project, but I don't have much to complain about here. I think the reason is that I just had a great group to work with, especially Kelly, who LOVES dogs and so that made rallying around her passion really easy. Maybe that's it - a key takeaway: maybe it takes someone's passion to create a great project? I guess if you put your full self into something like product development, your creativity really comes out. This course is really part entrepreneur! Early on, we did have some trouble getting started, finding meeting times, and subjects to interview. Also, we struggled with developing a good list of interview questions to use. But once we had that, things really flowed nicely to the end concept. But I think these are concerns with any group project - especially in business school - and the class meeting time really helped.

Yes, I enjoyed working with my team to develop the Royal Gardens Dog Lovers Apartment Complex. Although we had a very diverse background (2 MPAs, 2 MBAs), I think the diversity in thought contributed greatly to our ideas. I never felt like we ran into a wall with idea generation - we could just get together and drum up the next course of action fairly easily. Also, beyond idea generation, we had a resident expert in dog-walking, which was an immense help, a realist-type accountant, and two creative MBAs (as creative as MBAs can be). Honestly, I really had fun with this project because it allowed us to go the full cycle with research to prototype but also to be creative and visual with it. Also, the entire project wasn't too structured, so I never felt like our group "had to fit the mold." I really enjoyed being creative and thinking outside of the box. My team was very enthusiastic about the solution we developed - which made it feel less like a project and more like an endeavor.

Thank you for the course and thank you for the project!

Wal-Mart's Data Deluge

The retail giant Wal-Mart - with customer traffic of 100 million shoppers per week - has been collecting customer data through check out scanners for years. The company paid $4b for data infrastructure in 1991 and goes to great lengths to keep its data secret from suppliers and competitors. This customer and product data is segmented by store geography and is used to model tests to improve operational efficiency and product availability. Wal-Mart currently holds twice the data of the entire internet and gives the company an advantage in tailoring product availability to the right customer at the right time.

Based on this article and my knowledge of Wal-Mart's shopping experience, these data collection efforts are helping Wal-Mart make products available at the right time and help with supplier relationships but there isn't anything radical with these practices that is giving the company a competitive advantage. All businesses should aim to better understand their customers in order to make strategic decisions like new stores, product availability, and the offering of new products. The reason is that other retailers such as Macy's or Target are just as able to study their customer's buying habits, store performance, and inventory availability just as easily. Most retailers offer data collection efforts through loyalty programs and credit cards. It is up to them how much they are storing and analyzing this information to make business decision. I think that Target has a very similar effort to Wal-Mart's because of what Wal-Mart has been doing. The only true advantage that Wal - Mart has it that it doesn't share the scanner information with Nielsen or IRI, which makes it difficult for specific Target stores to better price match against Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart also collects data on more transactions than anyone else because it receives the most customer traffic. Additionally, it is important for any business to meet the needs of its customer base but I find it disturbing that Wal-Mart is looking to profit from unfortunate natural disasters like the gulf hurricanes. This is how their pop tart and beer response to Hurricane Frances was spun.

There are privacy concerns with what Wal-Mart is able to collect and I hope that steps have been taken to prevent personal data such as social security numbers, credit scores, mortgage balances, and driver's license numbers from being compromised. This article was not specific on how Wal-Mart might be using these pieces of information to offer new services, however this may be unknown. The fact that these pieces of information are available to Wal-Mart and the potential for abuse does disturb me. However, if I were to buy anything from a retailer with a credit card, then I surmise that they would collect this information as well. The key question is whether my household is receiving more credit card offers in the mail due to my shopping habits. This I am not sure of. Overall, I believe it is the moral responsibility of every business leader at Wal-Mart to not abuse the company's comprehensive data collection efforts.

Wal-Mart's data collection and technology efforts has effects beyond the company's customer base; Wal-Mart's suppliers are impacted as well. In order to improve inventory efficiency, the company uses RFID technology to keep track of inventory pallets. However, it does this by forcing its customers to invest in the RFID technology in order to continue to do business with the retail giant. With this technology they are able to become aware of supply outages up to the minute and relay this information back to suppliers for fulfillment. It can also notify suppliers of missed shipments or errors in delivery to get these problems corrected quickly. All of this contributes to the customer experience because items are in stock when needed - however, I don't think this is a radically different practices than other retailers. Wal-Mart is also gaining more power over its suppliers due to this information because it shares only what is needed for the supplier. The retail giant is moving towards scan based trading, where the inventory sold at Wal-Mart stores is owned by the manufacturer until it is sold - reducing the massive amount of inventory that Wal-Mart now holds on its books. This would be a massive change, putting Wal-Mart in a similar position to Ebay - another company that serves as that marketplace for goods but doesn't own the actual items being sold.

Paper Topic: What makes a successful customer experience with online services?

Research Topic:

In today's world, the way in which users are interacting with information and with each other is changing rapidly. People are connecting to the internet with a host of new devices and are accessing content or information in new ways. Over the years since internet has emerged in the early 1990s, people have now developed online lives, where routine daily tasks involve the internet. Yet through this change, some exemplars have emerged in the realm of 'online services' which provide that unique customer experience that users seek and keep them coming back, despite a host of competitors and little to no switching costs. In the social media realm, there is Facebook which has clearly dominated over competitors such as MySpace. Online gaming is led by Zynga, the maker of FarmVille despite PlayFish and Pogo and many other online game sites. When most people of online music, they turn to Pandora rather than offerings from Last.fm and Slacker Radio. And online information and community sites such as Wikipedia, Blogger, and LinkedIn are ruling over content mills, Typepad and Wordpress, and Bebo.

Key Questions:

What makes these key offerings work and why are they sticky? Is there something that explains their success? How is the user experience managed? How is the user experience designed, and are there key elements of each leading offering that are common among 'winning' platforms? How do they overlap: for example, Zynga and other online gaming companies use Facebook as a platform. What is the customer experience of each - relating to the customer experience framework we have studied in class? How are customers acquired? How are they managed? How are users retained? Have these online services been able to create higher switching costs than that of other less popular offerings? How much do these companies understand of their user base that is allowing them to target other customers and develop other appealing offerings? What are the broader implications of our growing connection to online services and what could the future hold? For instance, will it be a winner-take-all market for each type of offering or will multiple offerings co-exist?

My Interest in this Topic:

I am intrigued with how much our lives are being conducted online and how rapidly this phenomena is changing in today's world. As someone who remembers the late 1990's internet bubble and crash, it seems there is some element of what is going on today that parallels that period. However, there is likely much that is different and it is possible we are not going through internet bubble cycle 2.0 at this point. I hope to understand why or why not this may be occurring and what has changed since that time. This topic is also personally relevant to me because I hope to find a job at one of the leading online service providers. I think that by conducting the research for this paper that I will learn a great deal about the industry and the strategy behind the engaging customer experience that has been created by each company.

As I think about my interest in this topic and my future career, I consider that if I were required to write an MBA dissertation, that this would be my topic.

Resources:

My research resources include learning from one of the leading experts in online marketing today, Seth Godin, through his book and ongoing personal blog. I also will analyze the corporate blogs of today's leading companies in this realm, Google, Facebook, and Pandora. Additionally, I will look at leading tech site articles devoted to the topic, such as the CNN Tech article listed below.

Seth Godin, Tribes, 2008

Seth Godin's Glog

CNN Tech, Why the no-fun 'FarmVille' is so popular, Sept. 28, 2010

Pandora Corporate Blog

Google 10 Things Corporate Philosophy

Facebook Corporate Blog

Customer Experience: Amazon for Textbooks

As a graduate school student, each semester brings a large textbook purchase, sometimes upwards of $300. The cost can be daunting, although the textbooks are required for each course. Fortunately, there are options, and the number of options is growing. Students such as myself today can purchase from the Co-Op, rent textbooks from Chegg.com, or purchase from Abebooks.com or Amazon or even Barnes and Noble.

This past semester, I had to purchase two books for my Invisible Global Marketing course, the subject being business in emerging markets. These are not textbooks, but two books co-authored by the professor of the course. Being the cost-conscious student, I first comparison-shopped for these two books at the locations discussed previously. After a store visit to the Co-Op and a few website visits, I determined that these two books were cheapest when purchased from Amazon. I started an order for them at Amazon and added them each to my cart. When I began the checkout process, I realized that Amazon carried one, and could ship to me directly, but the other book was listed by a private seller on Amazon. I first thought this could be a problem, because there could be two transactions, but Amazon handled both purchases in one check out - the book at Amazon, and it handled the other with the private seller. Amazon's book was new, but for the other at the private seller, Amazon indicated what condition the book was in: New, Used, Like-New, Or Very Good condition, and the price differed for each variation. Additionally, for each one, I was given an estimated ship date, and length of time for delivery based on the shipping method I chose. I soon found out that both books would arrive at my house within a day of each other, although in separate shipments. I felt delighted that I could save about $15 off these two books versus other avenues such as the Co-Op, so I went ahead and placed an order. When each arrived about 5 days later, each arrived with a receipt from Amazon and the other seller and the Amazon book came with a return shipping label. Each was in the condition described in the listing.

Despite securing these books, I was forced to drop the class a week into the semester because of a scheduling conflict with a required course. I decided to return the books but I felt that this could be a problem. Would I be double-hit for shipping charges? Would Amazon and the other seller accept the return? Would any of the books be damaged or lost in the mail? The return at Amazon proved to be super easy. I didn't have to call or email anyone, I just simply indicated on my web check out form from my order that I was returning them. The return form sent me a return label for the other book. I put both in the mail and received a confirmation about a week later that both were received and a return credit issued, including the shipping charges for the return. Looking back on this entire transaction with Amazon, the whole experience seemed relatively painless; both finding, shipping, contacting Amazon afterwards, and returning the books. From my perspective, these are the important elements of my exchange with Amazon:

Ease in locating items
Low pricing and shipping costs versus other alternatives
Felt the shipping time was good relative to the cost
Ability to purchase from a variety of sellers, not just Amazon
Ability to quickly communicate with Amazon regarding the return (simple web page handled return)
Effortless return process, simple label priting at home, although I still had to go to the Post Office to mail the package
Fair credit for exchange policy

Why was this so? Analyzing the entire customer experience with elements of the Experiential Marketing Framework explains this.

There are five elements to this framework:

Sense: appealing to the senses, and used to differentiate the company or motivate customers.

Feel: appeals to to customers inner feels and emotions, with the objective to create affective experiences.

Think: appeals to the intellect. This engages the customer with creative problem solving experiences.

Act: enriches customers' lives by showing them alternative ways of doing things.

Relate: contains some of the above aspects but expands to customers feeling of an ideal self, other people, or cultures.

From my perspective, my Amazon experience touched on the Feeling, Thinking and Relational aspects of the Experiential Marketing Framework. These three categories encompass much of what I value from the exchange with Amazon. The competitive pricing and shipping costs and times all relate to my inner feeling regarding saving on expenses and how that just feels good for a consumer, especially with a web transaction - where cost and shipping are the main differentiators - the same items can be found at many sources. My ability to engage in one transaction with multiple sellers through Amazon, the ease of communication regarding the return and the effortless return process definitely falls into the Thinking category, as these aspects are all ways that Amazon showed me a creative way of completing a tast. (Amazon handled the sale for me with the other vendor, coordinated shipping, included a return label, and made it easy to print the other). Lastly, considering how I feel about the entire experience includes comparing this experience to previous dealing with Amazon, also comparing to other sellers, and comparing to what I feel is an ideal fair transaction. These three elements stem from the Relational aspect of the Experiential Marketing Framework.

My Persona: The Asipring, Soon-To-Be Graduate

In order to develop incredible products, marketers must step outside the bounds of traditional market segmentation into a new realm of personas. A persona is a collection of personal beliefs, characteristics, goals, and opinions about a group of customers beyond simple demographics, behaviors, or psychographics. Below is the persona I've created for myself in the form of the Cohorts examples, which includes major elements of the Empathy Map discussed in the course:

Personality:

"People say I'm a creative, free-thinker, apt to try that next experience."
"I hope that we can buy a house in the next five years."
"Not an empty nest for long: we're saving for that eventual baby."
"Success to me is spending quality time with my wife, kids, and work - in that order."
"People in America spend and eat too much. I try not to emulate this!"
"Selective social bug: Quality over quantity counts with friends."
"Starting and running a business is a life goal for me."
"I love technology that makes life easier; coolness is less of a factor that functionality though."
"I'm a member of a wine club and enjoy wine tasting with my wife."
"Eating organically is a goal, but we don't have the $$$ to do it 100% of the time."
"Staying physically active is a bug for me."

Demographics:

34
Male
Married
Graduate education
Apartment living situation
Business Professional
$90,000 annual income
No credit cards

Lifestyle:

Audio / Video:

2 Laptops at home
Addicted to Netflix
Still use that turntable to play records, although MP3s rule
I have a good digital camera but should have taken a photography class!

Sports and Fitness:

Skiing
Golf
Tennis
Gym rat: I love a good workout

Connoisseur:

Wine tasting
Travel - usually local, it's all we can afford right now
Art shows, checking out a new exhibit at the museum
We eat out selectively, but mostly enjoy cooking at home
European soccer

Outdoors and Home Life:

Hiking
Camping
Looking foward to having a dog around the house

There is a reason I was laid off...

Simply because of the start of World Cup soccer...well at least some big friendlies, and some big qualifiers:

Tuesday: Brazil vs. Italy (Friendly)
Wednesday: Argentina vs. France (Friendly)
England vs. Spain (Friendly w/ Becks included)
U.S. vs. Mexico (1st final round qualifier for 2010)

= Huge.

The Path Forward

Now that my experience at the "world's biggest bank failure" is complete, I sit home pondering my next move, although with much optimism. I'm recently married and turned 32 over the weekend, (if the year isn't a milestone it is in my case). The confluence of all these events has given me a little more cognizance for the future. Or at least a sense of its importance...

It's a tough economy sure; many of my friends were laid off...not only those at WaMu. Everyone has been affected in some way, shape, or form. We're all cutting back in our lives; the "culture of excess in America" is over- or at least I hope it to be. Of course I have to get a job at some point, but given my experience to date, I feel that I can be a little more patient this go round, at least now, to try and mold the career I want to step into.

Something along the lines of:

Finance - I have extensive experience in this to date, and seek to leverage on it.

Strategy - have recent events not enforced the importance of a sound one?

Service / Giving Back - because business can't all be about profits; rather I feel it serves a greater purpose.


So while you all may get in touch with me and think my days are all about Far Cry 2 on the PS3, Fox Soccer Channel, or the Gym...that's only partially the case. I plan on keeping you updated.

PS: Thanks to Adam S. B., Esq for the idea.

Bailout? An idea full of idiocy.

Of course, that's my opinion. But I don't think we should be authorizing one person to have so much power over the financial markets. That would be Henry Paulson under the guidance of Bush.

And middle class America shouldn't pay for it...

Don't bail out bad CEOs and poor business models. They took on the risk, so make them suffer the consequences. Banking is like haircuts, or doctors. We always will need it. The banking institutions may fail, but the service can't go away. There will be some other healthier bank that will take over if one cannot operate.

The amount we're talking about putting towards this bailout ($700M) is MORE than what we've spent in the Iraq so far, minus the lives...

If the mortgages the government buys from these banks go bad, then the middle class will pay in the future in the form of higher taxes, lower social programs, etc...

Do we really think this is fair that the President etc are telling the Senate and House to sign a bill or ELSE financial armageddon will occur? How much sound judgement is happening with that? And this is coming from the same guy (Bush) who said we needed to invade Iraq.

Sorry readers, it's been awhile...but I'm back

Hola amigos, I know it's been awhile since I last rapped at ya, but in the last 3 weeks, I've gotten married, the economy took a nose dive, and my company was taken over...so I've been a little busy. But let's add a little humor to it.

Top 5 Reasons You Know the Economy is in Shambles:


#5 - You just spent 30 minutes "rebalancing your 401K / IRA"…which can be summarized in 5 seconds as "a mad sell off." Yet it feels GOOD...

#4 - Next career option could involve the world "Canada"

#3 - You realize no one has any answers…politicians, economists, Bush, anybody. Oh and you want to punch Jim Cramer in the face.

#2 - You're weary of Bush trying "leave a legacy" on his presidency with Bailout…"worst president ever" is now a given. (9/11, IRAQ, Katrina, Economy)

#1 - Greatest job ever? It is very likely that the stress of the economy will likely cause mortal health problems for the president...and vice president.

POLITICS

Alright, let's transition to something more intellectual: politics. Last night was Barack Obama's big speech. Did he deliver the punch? It was a big event: 84,000 saw it live, millions more on television. Beyond all the grandiose events, I just hope this candidate can deliver on the "CHANGE" he promises. Otherwise I get a funny image in my head if either Barack doesn't win or becomes our worst president: the homeless will start using his campaign signs to ask for "CHANGE"

What do you think of McCain's VP Pick? My first thought is that it came out of the blue...1st term Governor of Alaska. And given the Ted Steven's issues, probably not a good association. Mitt would have been a better pick, however Palin could peel off some of Hillary's supporters.

Awesome website you should check out:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

It's basically a portal for every major story related to this election season. And it's the most up to date resource I've found. Take a look at the Electoral Maps between McCain and Obama. Take out the "Toss Up States" and you'll see how close this race is at this point:

Obama: 273
McCain: 265

that's a dead heat.

Will be tuning into the RNC next week...just to complete my "political spectrum"

WHO IS: Turd Ferguson?

"It's a funny name"

From a famous episode of the "Celebrity Jeopardy" skit on Saturday Night Life featuring Will Ferrell as Alex Trebeck. Burt Reynolds was played by Norm Macdonald, Sean Connery played by Darrell Hammond, and Jimmy Fallon playing French Stewart from 30 Rock. There have been 13 episodes to date of Celebrity Jeopardy but this one has to be the best:

Burt Reynolds: "Hey. Hey, ah... check out the podium. Look at this."
Alex Trebeck: "Mr. Reynolds has apparently changed his name to Turd Ferguson."
Burt Reynods: "Yeah, that's right. Turd Ferguson. It's a funny name."

They go back and forth arguing which ends with:

Alex Trebeck: "I hate my job!"

QUESTION OF DAY:

Where is there more debauchery and sexual promiscuity: at the Athlete's Village in Beijing or at the Democratic National Convention's hush-hush parties?

YOUR TAKE?

Great Article about the Olympic side of things:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4582421.ece

THIS WEEK:

There are 3 weeks till I get married: planning a wedding is a cross between major excitement and a major to-do list. In many ways I'm super excited to celebrate it, yet on the other hand I'm ready to get through it and "back to a life of normalcy."


The Beijing Olympics are over: While Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and the Redeem Team made most of the headlines, it was also exciting to see our performance in Beach and Indoor Volleyball for both the Men's and Women's teams (commence global domination NOW). I've also discovered an appreciation for waterpolo. Boy that sport is exciting to watch - it is rough! (What goes on above the water, is MUCH different from what is below: "hey this guy is going to shoot on goal, I am just going to straight kick him in the nuts!"


The US OPEN tennis tournament begins: It's my favorite tournament to watch of the year: the fans at the night sessions in NY are absolutely crazy. I think James Blake and Andy Roddick will be the crowd favorites...yet Nadal / Federer are the favorites to win.

Democratic National Convention is held: I'm excited about Barack's VP pick and we'll see if the Obama-Biden duo can effectively convey a message of unity. I've also read that the Denver Convention is also "Politicians Gone Wild with Spending" which is too bad. Oh and the race is effectively tied now: chance of Obama winning two months ago: 75%+.

Now? 50%.

DUMB MOVE OF THE WEEK: Chinese gymnast, age "16", He

"Look mommy, cheating is for winners!"

Look's like the International Olympic Committee has launched an official investigation into the gymnast's age. This coming after some uber-pc geek discovered two documents that put the gymnast's age at 14 rather than 16 on her Chinese passport.

Read story here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,408422,00.html

WHO IS: Mr. Sparkle?

Mr. Sparkle is a character from one of my favorite Simpsons epsidoes, "In Marge We Trust." Homer takes the kids to the landfill to dispose of the Christmas tree. While there he comes across a box of detergent with asian writing on it. The product's character looks like him. Of course he finds this weird, so he ends up calling the manufacturer in Japan for information on it. He gets a video in the mail of one of the Mr. Sparkle commericials. It's strange but ends up explaining that Mr. Sparkle is the result of the merging of two large Japanese companies: Tamaribuchi Matsumura Fishworks and Heavy Manufacturing Concern. Their mascots are a fish and a lightbulb, and the combination of these two forms Mr. Sparkle. So Homer discovers the resemblance is just a coincedence.

Watch Here:

http://www.blogger.com/www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzSRHtkSNPs

Mr. Sparkle Taglines:

"Mr. Sparkle is disrespectful of dirt."

"Mr. Sparkle is a magnet for foodstuffs...he will banish food particles to the land of wind and ghosts."

PEOPLE I WOULD FIGHT...If I saw them walking down the street

Now let me be honest: I would probably lose, but I'd still fight them. Just because of my convictions. Each for various reasons. Most just annoy the sh*t out of me.

So here's my list:

1. Bob Costas - I've hated Bob Costas as long as I've watched sports on NBC. This guy always seems to host the biggest sporting events on NBC: any game with Michael Jordan, the Kentucky Derby, the World Series, anything with Tiger Woods, the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bob Costas reminds me a little of Matt Lauer for sports. He always seems to focus on the drama, and frequently proclaims athletes as "the greatest player of all time" or "playing the greatest game of his or her life." It's as if Bob is seeking the greatest athletes...but it's just that he only seems to consider the emotion of game in the present, but not all the rest of history and other players. Further, in the Olympics, Mr. Costas seems to curtail the rest of the world's athletes for only those wear the red, white, and blue.

Recent annoying moment: when Bob Costas interviewed President George Bush at the Olympics and asked him if #1 "the Olympics had legitimized the Chinese government to the rest of the world" and then awkwardly transitioned to #2 "what is your take on the doping allegations in US baseball?"

Fact: I just heard someone in the office elevator complaining about him.


2. Donald Trump - How many times do we need to see Mr. Trump's scowl and comb over in the Apprentice boardroom? And who was his secretary? The Apprentice is worthless when teaching the virtues of business. Just ask anyone who's work email address ends in .com. So is this guy.

Recent annoying moment: Every season of The Apprentice when he proclaims: "if you win this, you get to work with ME."


3. Dude that hosts "Survivor" - Now I don't even know this guy's name, but I will tell you he sucks BIG TIME. For one, reality television blows, is a drain on society, and this guy plays up week after week on CBS in the show's format that never seems to change. Please help us, when will Survivor get old? When they run out of exotic locations and are resorted to "Survivor: Compton" ? Mr. Survivor host guy, the tribal council has spoken...you're going down.


4. Joe Rogan - I have no first hand experience with Joe as a comedian. He may be funny. My opinion of Joe Rogan stems from his persona as a host of Ultimate Fighting Events (UFC). He's always in a black shirt with blue jeans and black shoes, a big watch on his left wrist that's always pretentiously displayed. He looks like he's about to go clubbing after the event in Vegas. Then he'll get in the ring after each fight and ask something of the loser so ridiculous as "Now what did it feel like when he was pounding you unmercifully?" But what's most annoying is the way that he has a high pitched voiced, frequently yells about each combatent, and holds the microphone up to his mouth so he resembles doing a bicep curl at the gym. Joe Rogan, I hate you.

Recent annoying moments: UFCs 55 through present, UFC 88

5. Clay Bennett - This guy is the second coming of Big Country Bryant Reeves. And he stole our team (the Seattle Supersonics) and then in the midst of it all he is dismayed because he "wasn't liked in our town anymore." Huh? Really? I'd have to throw in this bucket a little extra credit if Clay Bennett and David Stern were ever walking down the street together, possibly hand in hand? Well anyways, I'd give Clay a swift kick the spleen, and Stern would receive a round house left to the grill. 'Nuff said.

My Perspective on Phelps' accomplishment

Michael Phelps feat at this year's Olympics is an amazing achievement. But I don't think we can call him "the greatest athlete ever" or even "the greatest Olympian ever." The simple reason is that only swimming allows for a single athlete to have the opportunity to win so many medals. I'm sick of the broadcasters calling him the greatest athlete ever. Michael Phelps just has the ability to win because he's able to race in events which are similar in distance. 100M / 200M / 100M relays. It's as if Usain Bolt in track and field won the 100M (which he did in 9.69) then was able to win the 200M, the 4 x 100M, then was able to run the 100M backwards, sideways, and then the 400M forwards, backwards, and sideways, and some other way. Well it seems crazy, but that's what swimming offers in a single Olympics.

Consider:

Best basketball player: Kobe / LeBron - how many medals can they win? ONE

Best gymnast: Maybe THREE OR FOUR (Team competition, all around, individual events)

Best volleyball player: TWO (Beach and Indoor)

Best tennis player: TWO (doubles and singles, 3 if they have mixed doubles)

I aim not to take away from what he has accomplished, but to consider the format of his events versus the others at the Olympics.

OLYMPICS: My changes to the sports lineup

1. Keep soccer, but make some changes - There's been discussion about making some changes here, and some notable sports reporters have suggesting getting rid of both women's and men's Olympic soccer.

Reason: Olympic soccer is the opportunity for our U-23 team to tune up for the World Cup. I don't agree with the reporters on espn.com and cnnsi.com about this. The summer Olympics fall between World Cups and the US doesn't have a competition of Euro caliber, which falls the same year. Also the qualifying for the Olympics is driven by other major continental tournaments, and it is important to hold such tournaments. It's a tune up for the US, and we're definitely competitive. But one thing I'd change is make a rule that the 3 players that can be above 23 years old must be released from their clubs for the Olympics. Club soccer can wait.

2. Get rid of softball, keep baseball - They are already getting rid of both, although 3 years ago softball and baseball were nearly reinstated. (It was 1 vote shy of reinstating them).

Reason: It's just not competitive. The US softball team has dominated all opponents. Before yesterday, the cumulative run tally in softball was something like 55 to 1. Baseball on the other hand IS competitive, and I'm sorry it is being eliminated. Cuba, Japan, Central American teams, and the US are power houses.

3. Add golf - I'm not sure of the format for it, but possibly a team like, Ryder cup competition could work versus head to head.

Reason: It's truly an international sport. The world plays golf.

Other changes:

4. Don't let the host country verify the ages of its athletes (Chinese women's gymanstic team). Given what everyone is saying, this could blow up. Meaning if this is really investigated and China in fact issued false documentation, then it would tarnish the image of the host nation.

5. Improve Coverage format - Show the Olympics on cable channels devoted to it when the events are live. I laugh everytime NBC's Bob Costas says "Michael Phelps on next, Live" yet I already know the outcome after seeing it live on the Canadian channel. Thank goodness for Canadian coverage. So much better.

And actually I laugh at Bob Costas altogether...although that's another post.

REASONS why the ipod falls short

Let's get something straight: I love my ipod. I use it almost daily on the way to work or at the gym. But I use it only because it's the best mp3 player device out there. It isn't perfect. So here are some gripes I have with the whole apple system: the ipod and itunes.

#1 - Lack of functionality - let's face it, the ipod is simply a glorified walkman for mp3s. It really doesn't offer anything new, only that you can play mp3s on the go. And with the exception of the iphone, it doesn't offer anything more than this ability. I expect some additional functionality: a microphone to record notes, a recorder to capture audio inputs, an FM tuner, an internet connection, or even satellite radio.

#2 - The one function click wheel - it's annoying that every function except the hold function on the ipod is controlled by one wheel. It was revolutionary with its design, but I don't like it. Especially when I'm listening to a song and I want to adjust the volume, fast forward, or change the EQ settings. Changing the EQ settings requires going back to "Settings" a few screens, and with sweaty hands at the gym, this can be difficult to do. When trying to skip forward a mixed cd (yes I listen to DJ music often) half the time I don't fast forward, but end up rating the song, or adjusting the volume altogether. At the very lease, the volume should be a separate control.

#3 - Limited colors - Only the new nano is offered in any color scheme. But if you want the full functioning ipod (with video) you can't get the colors and it is larger.

# 4- Lack of wireless headphones - so apple can invent the brilliant iphone, but not come up with a set of wireless headphones? Doesn't make sense. The headphones that are provided are sub par, and new ones can cost $$$. So maybe apple isn't working on this. In that case, then they should partner with another company who is. Cool, great sounding wireless headphones should be standard.

# 5 - itunes blows - Let me get this straight: I can only update my ipod on MY COMPUTER with MY ITUNES ACCOUNT? What if I'm over at a friend's house and I want to erase, or add a song cause I just bought a new cd? Or I'm at work? Shouldn't I be able to log in to itunes online and update using his or any computer? (I promise I won't steal any music.) Also converting songs sucks and the fact that you can only get song titles when you're hooked up to the internet is frustrating. Aren't song titles stored on the CD itself? And the way it organizes songs by artist can cause for multiple listings for the same artist. Example: for instance when a song is something like MIA featuring Timbaland - this is listed separate from MIA, even though it is from MIA's CD. Apple could definitely put together more user friendly software...


* Well that's it for my ipod gripes. Hopefully either S. Jobs or CNET is listening.

Major Problems with E-Mail today

Just how productive is it these days? In many ways, EMAIL has become a bane of many professionals lives. At some companies, people spend up to 40% of their day managing their inbox. I have spent time at companies where this is wholly true, and perhaps even more so. Microsoft being one. Email at MSFT gets to a point where it seems to take up half your time, and feels counter-productive. My first week there I was told "I'd receive more email than I've ever had before." And this proved true. I've seen Microsofties at the gym who check their Outlook inbox via a Blackberry in between sets of curls. It's sad. They're seemingly tied to managing their inboxes. Of course, they're sharing ideas, but in an inefficient manner. At this and other companies, there's really a lack of what could be considered "business hours" due to email. It creates a constant flow or work not limited to being passed between 8 am and 6 pm. Just replying to an email, "passing it back", feels like getting something done. It's part of the culture. But there's only so much benefit to working in this manner, and I believe email at this point has reached its critical point.

A few things I would change about today's email culture are as follows:

1. If you're receiving more than 50 emails a day, you need to reevaluate your job or how your company works. It's what is called "Information Overload." You don't want to fall into half your day being spent responding to emails, especially if they involve projects to do and you never seem to get to the bottom of your inbox.

2. Stress face time versus email communication. If anything, someone should try to see a customer or colleague in person in a meeting versus sending an email message. If you can't see the person face to face due to time or location differences, consider picking up the phone over sending an email.

3. Remember that you affect how your company values email communication. So be wary of how others work versus how you do, and think twice about sending an email. Because it may cause others to use it more too.

4. Avoid "flame mail." Flame mail is the term for someone expressing discontent or anger over email in response. And usually, flame mails involve words that one person wouldn't say to another if speaking face to face. Consider how you treat others when sending email. If anything, call a meeting or pick up the phone.

5. Consider changing your email habits. Some things I would suggest is checking your inbox at only certain times of the day, or sending email only as an "FYI basis." Again, you have to determine how you want email to be apart of your career.

6. Don't needlessly cc: others. This happens far too often in the workplace. People think others are in the know just because they were copied on an important email. This adds to the email volume. I can't recall how many times I've been in a meeting discussion to hear someone ask questions about the subject matter only to be told, "didn't you get that email? you were copied on it." Simply copying someone on an email doesn't imply they are now on the same page as you. People have different schedules. Consider telling them in person or over the phone to get your point across.


Email: It's a communication tool, not a job.